GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — A former teacher is running a tutoring program to help students improve in more ways than one.
Malique Grear created Positive Impact for Lifeto address students' academic and emotional needs.
The afterschool tutoring and mentoring program serves as an extension of the school day, keeping kids engaged in learning.
Dickinson Academy is one of three sites where free programming for 4th-8th graders is currently offered.
"With our nonprofit, we wanted that positive impact for life, so it just flows into everything that we do," Grear told FOX 17 News. "In that 49507 zip code, there were a lot of students at risk of not being able, not even having the proper things that they needed to be successful in school."
Participants are provided a snack and paired with a tutor.
A guest therapist also visits to offer professional advice on how to manage emotions.
Grear hopes to expand the program to more schools next year.
"My motto is love is the key to moving forward in everything that we do," she said. "The greatest impact you can ever have is touching someone else's life, pouring into someone else, giving them a smile, giving them your gifts and talents."
To learn more about Positive Impact for Life, click here.
As the FOX 17 and Lake Michigan Credit Union Pay it Forward Person of the Month, Grear receives a $550 prize.
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Meet Tracy Gary, our February 2024 Pay it Forward Person of the Month.
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